June 18, 1597 Tsunami: Volga River, Russia
A tsunami caused by a landslide began at Volga River, Russia on June 18, 1597.
Where the waves reached
The source of the tsunami. No runup with a place is recorded for it.
- Under 1 m
- 1 to 3 m
- 3 to 10 m
- 10 to 30 m
- 30 m and more
- Height not recorded
The tsunami
- Date
- June 18, 1597
- Source
- Volga River, Russia
- Cause
- Landslide
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- A lake or river, not the ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 56.270° N, 44.140° E
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
On 18 June 1597, an enormous landslide destroyed completely the Pechera monastery located at a distance of a few kilometers from the Kremlin of Nizhniy Novgorod down the Volga River. Part of the coastal cliff carried away the houses of the monastery and protruded into the Volga over a distance of more than 100 m, which caused “terrible waves” on the river. The anchored vessels down the monastery were thrown ashore over almost 50 m [Gatsisky, 2001] [...] The author also [Gatsisky, 2001] informs that partial displacements of the slope were observed at least a week before the described event. Many springs opened after the landslide. It is possible to conclude that an increase in the groundwater level and thinning of the ground caused the landslide. (reference #13227)
More
Every tsunami in 1597The 1500sTsunamis of RussiaThis day in weather historyAlerts in force
Sources
Tsunami events and runups from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI tsunami event 5837.